Munster 29
Ulster 24
THEY MADE HARD work of it but Munster will finish the regular URC top of the table and enjoy home advantage throughout the knockouts stages after overcoming a spirited Ulster side at Thomond Park.
Graham Rowntree’s side took an early lead through RG Snyman but fell behind as Ulster fought back and threatened an upset in Limerick. The visitors led from the 16th minute until the 69th as Munster finished strong to avoid conceding top spot in the table.
Munster will be back at Thomond Park for their quarter-final next weekend against the Ospreys and will enjoy home advantage again in the semi-finals and final should they advance.
Ulster will be away to Leinster next weekend, with quarter-final details to be confirmed by the URC.
Munster were poor for large parts of this contest but finished on top thanks to some big impacts off the bench – with RG Snyman, Calvin Nash, Shane Daly and Eoghan Clarke scoring the four Munster tries.
Ulster made two late changes ahead of kick-off, with fullback Ethan McIlroy and centre Stuart McCloskey replaced by Stewart Moore and Jude Postlethwaite, while Dave Ewers and Aaron Sexton came onto the bench.
In beautiful Limerick sunshine Munster came out firing, building pressure in the Ulster 22 straight from kick-off.
Yet they were perhaps fortunate not to lose Snyman to an early card, the second row catching Will Addison high as the Ulster centre attempted to run the ball from the in-goal area. After a TMO review referee Frank Murphy was happy to award a penalty only.
Ulster’s frustration was further compounded when they then lost Kieran Treadwell to injury with only five minutes played.
It was a tricky start for the visitors and they slipped behind when Snyman used his long limbs to stretch out and score after Munster had hammered away at the tryline. Jack Crowley converted and the home side were in the driving seat.
Yet from there Graham Rowntree’s men were oddly flat, their attack struggling for cohesion as Ulster slowly began to take control.
They struck back just short of the 20 minute mark after Crowley was pinged at the breakdown. Ulster kicked to the corner and hooker Rob Herring peeled away from the maul for a trademark try, the score converted by Cooney.
Cooney then moved his team into the lead with three points off the tee after Sean O’Brien conceded a penalty for offside.
Munster had some promising moments but lacked a clinical edge. A lovely flowing lineout move ended with Simon Zebo finding Calvin Nash out wide, the winger stepping Mike Lowry with ease before being tackled to ground. Munster recycled the ball infield but their passing was loose and the ball was knocked-on.
The hosts then lost Rory Scannell to a worrying looking injury after Ulster’s Eric O’Sullivan landed awkwardly on the centre’s ankle. Already without injured midfielders Antoine Frisch and Alex Nankivell, Joey Carbery came in to play 10 as Crowley shifted across to centre.
Munster built more pressure but were struggling to find a way through a determined Ulster defence. Another flowing move saw Munster go coast-to-coast in the Ulster half – with some superb hands from Crowley keeping the ball alive – but the move again broke down due to loose passing as Ulster regained possession.
A poor Munster error then handed Ulster a great opportunity to finish the half on a high.
After Jacob Stockdale threatened down the wing by chipping over Zebo, Daly did well to scramble across and sweep up the danger. Yet there was confusion at the resulting goal line drop-out as Crowley kicked the ball straight out. Ulster were awarded a 5m-scrum, and after their first strike brought another penalty, David McCann went over from close range.
Cooney converted and Ulster took a 10-point lead into the break, having enjoyed 59% of the possession and 62% of the territory across the opening 40.
Munster needed a response after half-time but continued to play scrappy rugby in their own half – a cheap penalty allowing Cooney another shot at the posts, with the Ulster scrum-half this time pulling his shot narrowly wide.
In need of lift, five minutes into the second half Rowntree turned to his 6/2 bench split and sent in Oli Jager, Tom Ahern, John Hodnett and Gavin Coombes.
It triggered an immediate response. From a scrum penalty Munster attacked, a sharp step inside from Carbery getting them moving into the Ulster half. A series of strong carries built momentum before Crowley ate up more ground to bring Munster close to the tryline. Casey stepped in and spun a wonderful pass wide to Nash, who scored in the corner.
Crowley nailed an excellent conversion from the sideline to make it a three-point game.
That should have been the spur for Munster but instead Ulster struck back immediately. Cormac Izuchukwu made the initial burst forward and while he couldn’t go all the way, Ulster reworked the ball before Matty Rae crossed. Cooney again made no mistake with the extras.
The game was now hurtling along at a ferocious pace and at the other end Daly scored the third try of a frenetic seven-minute spell, racing over in the corner after more good work from Carbery, who was growing increasingly influential. Crowley hit his third conversion to make it a three point game again entering the final quarter.
This time, Munster managed to kick on. A lineout in the corner handed Munster prime position to turn the screw and a smooth lineout ended in a driving maul, with replacement hooker Eoghan Clarke pushing through for the bonus-point score. Crowley’s conversion struck the crossbar but with less than 10 minutes to play, Munster led by two points.
Now it was just about seeing it out, and when Ulster conceded a penalty just inside the Munster half Crowley happily pointed for the posts and tacked on another three points to see his side home – although they had to ride out one last Ulster attack.
The defending champions flirted with surrendering top spot here but they fought back to get over the line, and a ninth straight URC win ensures they have the momentum to launch another title charge over the coming weeks.
Munster scorers:
Tries – Snyman, Nash, Daly, Clarke
Penalty – Crowley
Conversions – Crowley [3/4]
Ulster scorers:
Tries – Herring, McCann, Rae
Penalty – Cooney [1/2]
Conversions – Cooney [3/3]
MUNSTER: Simon Zebo; Calvin Nash, Seán O’Brien, Rory Scannell (Joey Carbery, 36), Shane Daly; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey (Conor Murray, 70); Jeremy Loughman (John Ryan,, 61), Niall Scannell (Eoghan Clarke, 61), Stephen Archer (Oli Jager, 50); RG Snyman (Tom Ahern, 50), Tadhg Beirne (capt); Peter O’Mahony (Gavin Coombes, 50), Alex Kendellen (John Hodnett, 50), Jack O’Donoghue.
ULSTER: Stewart Moore; Mike Lowry, Will Addison (Aaron Sexton, 59), Jude Postlethwaite, Jacob Stockdale; Billy Burns, John Cooney; Eric O’Sullivan (Andy Warwick, 53), Rob Herring (Tom Stewart,, 59), Tom O’Toole (Scott Wilson, 67); Kieran Treadwell (Harry Sheridan, 5), Alan O’Connor (capt) (Matty Rea, 18) (Dave Ewers, 65); Cormac Izuchukwu, David McCann, Nick Timoney.
Referee: Frank Murphy [IRFU].
Attendance: 17, 496.
